Microsoft Expression Changes

The proliferation of rich interactive web applications across the cloud and mobile devices continues to create new opportunities for creative design and development. As these technologies evolve, Microsoft is committed to providing best-in-class tools for building modern applications. In support of these industry trends Microsoft is consolidating our lead design and development offerings — Expression and Visual Studio — to offer all of our customers a unified solution that brings together the best of Web and modern development patterns.

Blend will continue to ship as a standalone tool with Visual Studio 2012, as part of a consolidated designer/developer offering. Blend for Visual Studio 2012 provides a rich design-centric environment for building Windows Store apps and Windows Phone apps. In addition, WPF, Silverlight and SketchFlow support is available today as a preview and will be released in Visual Studio 2012 Update 2.

Expression Studio 4 Ultimate and Expression Studio 4 Web Professional are no longer available for sale. For customers who previously purchased these products, all components within Ultimate and Web Professional will be supported through their
support lifecycle.

Expression Design 4 and Expression Web 4 are now available for download at no charge. Technical support will not be available for these free versions.

Expression Encoder 4 Pro is no longer available for purchase. Expression Encoder 4 remains available for download at no charge.

Additionally a Preview version of Blend for Visual Studio 2012 that supports Silverlight and WPF editing, as well as SketchFlow is available. With this addition, developers can now leverage a consolidated tool for all the platforms, as part of a fully integrated solution with Visual Studio.

We are committed to releasing a production-ready version of Blend that supports these platforms in the upcoming Visual Studio 2012 Update 2. Please check back on the availability by visiting the
Visual Studio website.

Expression Web

The web is now about applications as well as traditional web sites, and this requires a new set of tools. Microsoft is committed to offering a unified approach to focus on web design and development features in Microsoft Visual Studio 2012.

As part of this consolidation, Microsoft Visual Studio 2012 provides the leading web development tool, which enables you to design, develop, and maintain websites and web applications. Visual Studio 2012 makes it easy to build CSS-based websites from the ground up with new CSS layouts, HTML5 support and full featured capabilities for working with and debugging JavaScript. Learn more about
Visual Studio Express 2012 for Web and
WebMatrix 2.

Expression Web is now available as a free download from the Microsoft Download Center, and no new versions will be developed. Customers who previously purchased Expression Web will receive support through the established
support lifecycle.

Expression SuperPreview Remote Beta will continue running as a service through June 30, 2013.

Expression Design

Customers are demanding better tools to help them create innovative, user-centric, fast and fluid applications. Going forward, our focus is on building the best tools for creating these applications with Visual Studio and Blend for Visual Studio,
importing content from a range of widely used graphical tools.

Expression Design is now available as a free download from the Microsoft Download Center, and no new versions will be developed. Customers who previously purchased Expression Design as part of Expression Ultimate or Expression Web will receive support through the established
support lifecycle.

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the difference between the free and paid versions of Expression Web and Design?

The features and functionality are the same between the free download and paid versions. The key difference is that the free versions are not supported, meaning they come as-is and no Microsoft technical support is available (these products are supported via the community).

How do I get technical support for Expression products?

If you purchased Expression Studio Ultimate, Expression Web Professional or Expression Encoder Pro: you’re eligible for the same support as today via assisted support, self-support, and the community. Support is available on the
Expression support webpage.

If you did not purchase Expression Web or Design and are using a free version: these products are supported via the community.